Monday, July 29, 2013

Free Educational Games at Room Recess

Recently I came across Room Recess, a website offering free educational games for kids. Being the stickybeak chook that I am, I decided to check the site out.

The work of elementary school teacher of 14 years, Brian King, Room Recess grew from humble beginnings to become a website where parents and teachers can encourage kids to explore a variety of educational games. Many of Brian's students have helped in the "Quality Control" phase of each game, finding glitches and telling him how to make them more enjoyable.

What I like: It's a huge plus that the site has no ads! Free is much appreciated and also that games reinforce concepts kids will encounter at school. The games themselves don't have too many flashing lights but are solidly educational while at the same time offering fun. Drill and practice is so much more enjoyable in game format.

King's teaching background means that he knows kids, and he's used themes like snowball fights, aliens and zombies to lure kids into practising math patterns, spelling, word building, and fractions. Currently kids can choose between Math Games and Word Games, with titles that include Missile Mania, Homophone Matcher and Bounce. Games seem to me to be well-pitched at elementary/primary level, and some I played drilled down to narrower age/grade preferences.

If you're looking for a safe place for your kids to play and learn, check out RoomRecess.com.